There are certainly bigger homes, homes with more paintings on the walls and homes designed by architects that are more astonishing structures. But the house and furnishings Eliel Saarinen designed for himself and his family in the 1920s at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., combine to rank as one of the most beautiful early modern interiors in the world.

Detroit-area residents can visit Saarinen's magical house, and for those elsewhere there is this book to savor, with its 150 elegant color photographs by architectural photographer Balthazar Korab.

Korab's photographs frame room after room so the viewer feels as though he or she is entering these well-proportioned spaces. Korab makes clear Saarinen's concern with bringing light and nature into the rooms.

Gregory Wittkopp's informative historical essay about Saarinen and the house mixes architectural detail with lifestyle in a formal yet readable way. Wittkopp, who oversaw restoration of the house and is director of the academy's art museum, lets us know the Saarinens through letters and remembrances of friends.

Diana Balmori adds the last component--Mother Nature--in her discussion of the garden and its renewal. Balmori explains how Saarinen linked the landscape to the Arts and Crafts interior.

Life and art are inextricably intertwined at the Saarinen house. The beauty of the interior is reinforced by the order of the exterior, making the residence a glorious work of art. This book does it justice.